Like a Hurricane
by Dragonfly-Moonlight
Summary: AU. His father has taken a new mate. How will he be able to cope when disaster strikes and his father's new family is thrown into his life?
1. Chapter 1

Nature. The one force on the planet more destructive than ningen and youkai combined. In a single moment of fury, homes are shredded, lives are taken, and one's sense of security is shattered. It is Her way to correct the imbalance that Man has created, Her way of keeping things under control. Nothing can compare to the Mother when She's in Her righteous glory and anger and nothing can stop Her when She's in one of Her moods. Nothing.

"Come on! We have to hurry!" the man shouted out, holding his hand towards the woman walking towards him. Already, the wind had started to pick up and whip around them, and it sent small pieces of debris flying between them.

"I'm hurrying," she replied, cradling a small bundle close to her. "I don't dare go any faster."

He knew the reason why she was being cautious. It was the very reason why he wanted her to hurry. The small bundle in her arms. The small child that they had had together.

In the space of seconds that felt like hours, she had made it to their car and had climbed in. He followed suit. Moments later, they were driving through the rain, the flying leaves and tree branches . . . and through the pieces of houses as the winds grew stronger. Something flashed before them . . .

888888888

"No!"

Ryu bolted forward, his breathing hard and heavy and his body covered in sweat. For a moment, he just sat there, eyes unfocused on the wall across from him. Then he jumped out of his bed and turned his television on.

'It couldn't have happened. It just couldn't have. Father would have gotten Yashira and Sesshomaru out sooner if he knew something would endanger them. I just know that he would.'

The screen came to life and Ryu settled himself in front of it to watch. As he did so, his hand reached for the phone. He had to get a hold of his father. He just had to. Before tragedy struck their entire family.


	2. Chapter 2

Somewhere in the background, an alarm clock blared and an infant cried. Ryu groaned as he buried his head under his pillows, trying to block the sounds out. It was a futile effort, he knew, but it didn't stop him from trying.

'Please make it go away . . .'

However, after five minutes, the alarm clocked still blared and the baby, his brother Sesshomaru, still cried. He wasn't as loud as before but he still was fussing. Calling it quits, Ryu threw the covers off him and swung his legs over the side of his bed.

Since a hurricane had devastated more than half of Florida several weeks ago, his father and his stepmother had come to live with him in San Francisco. Fortunately, his phone call to his father had saved the tiny family. Their plane had landed in San Francisco before the hurricane that would have ended their lives had hit. Their home had been decimated and would take weeks to rebuild . . . once the hurricane season was over.

'Which won't be until the end of October,' he thought somewhat grumpily, walking into the kitchen of his tiny apartment. Yashira, his stepmother, sat at the table, Sesshomaru in her arms. Next to her sat a bottle.

As he walked in, she glanced up and offered a tired, wan smile.

"Sorry, Ryu, for waking you . . ."

"Not a problem," he quickly reassured her, plastering a huge grin on his face. "I needed to get up for class anyway."

"Oh . . . I fixed something for breakfast . . . it isn't much but . . ." her voice trailed off.

"Thanks," Ryu smiled, genuinely this time. "I appreciate it."

To that, she offered him another smile then attempted to feed his fussing half-brother.

In many ways, Ryu did not mind his father and stepmother living with him. They were paying for the increase in rent, half of the utilities, and buying groceries to replace the food that they cooked. He found that it was difficult sometimes to even remember that they were even there.

'Which isn't always a good thing,' he thought ruefully and with a chuckle as he fixed himself a plate. 'Especially when I want to bring my boyfriend over.'

Still, the arrangement turned out to be beneficial to everyone and that was all anyone could really ask for.

888888888

Overhead, dark clouds had moved in. Thunder rolled and lightning crashed. The waves lapping against the sandy shore grew taller and more violent as they hit the beach. Not a single soul was in sight as the Mother unleashed Her anger upon the world once more.

Once again, the world of ningen and youkai had upset the Mother, though in what way they would never know.

Not that they would have cared why. Ningens were more prone to complaining about the Mother's anger and wrath for the damage that it did to their homes. Youkai simply gave up caring.

As the winds started to pick up, an earthly howl and cry rang throughout out the darkness of the day . . .

888888888

Ryu bolted forward in his bed, his breath hitching in his chest. His hair clung to his forehead as sweat beaded into his eyes. He'd had another dream of yet another violent storm, this one to be hitting San Francisco.

However, unlike the dream of his father and Yashira, this one had been muddled. There was a message there, a sense of urgency for . . . something. What, he couldn't identify. He just knew that something was out there and if it was caught in the storm in his dream . . .

'It'll be lost forever.'


	3. Chapter 3

At some point, he'd left his apartment.

When, he wasn't entirely sure. He had simply . . . left. Thankfully, neither his father nor his stepmother had been up when he'd walked out. Sesshomaru had been babbling quietly to himself in his crib but otherwise the place had been silent.

'What is wrong with me?' Ryu wondered, inhaling deeply of the night time air. 'Why do I keep sensing these things?'

It really wasn't much of a secret, his gift. Thanks to his strange parentage, he sensed things that no others could, not even the best seers in the inuyoukai clans. Deaths and catastrophes had been prevented, supposedly, because of him. Most of the time, Ryu didn't mind the glimpses that came to him. However, his brief visions never left him feeling scared or cold, as the last two had.

As he walked, puzzling over his latest dream, Ryu found his head clearing. He also noticed that his feet were leading him to the beach front. The scent of the ocean became heavier in the air, and it felt rather . . . intoxicating. He allowed a small smile touch his lips as his feet came into contact with the sand. Above him, thunder began to roll.

'The ocean is angry today,' he thought idly as waves came crashing to the shore. They were a little more aggressive than usual . . . a sign bad weather was on its way. 'I'd better get back soon.'

The weather didn't bother him the way it would a human. Being full youkai, he wouldn't catch a cold or something other disease that humans tended to come down with after being out in the rain. He just didn't relish the idea of getting soaked by the season's downpour. Wet clothing had a nasty habit of becoming uncomfortable after a while.

Still, he didn't turn back. His feet propelled him forward in spite of the dark clouds looming overhead . . .


End file.
